Insects

Western Pondhawk

2008-11-13T01:57:00.000-08:00

Pondhawks (Erythemis collocata) are members of the skimmer family, with similar looking Eastern and Western species.

The male Western Pondhawk, seen in the top picture, is a mixture of green and blue, indicating youth. In a week or so, both the thorax and abdomen will be a consistent light blue color.

Male Western Pondhawks look similar to Blue Dashers. The green nose and solid color thorax (whether early green or mature blue) represent good field identificaion marks to differentiate between the two species.

The female western pondhawk (Erythemis collocata) is green in color with the yellow or tan markings on the abdomen.

Golden tabby tigers

2008-10-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

In addition, another recessive gene may create a very unusual "golden tabby" colour variation, sometimes known as "strawberry". Golden tabby tigers have light gold fur, pale legs and faint orange stripes. Their fur tends to be much thicker than normal There are extremely few golden tabby tigers in captivity, around 30 in all. Like white tigers, strawberry tigers are invariably at least part Bengal. Both white and golden tabby tigers tend to be larger than average Bengal tigers

Tiger Woods

2008-10-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2007, having earned an estimated $122 million from winnings and endorsements. According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007, and the magazine predicts that by 2010, Woods will become the world's first athlete to pass one billion dollars in earnings. Woods has won fourteen professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player, and 65 PGA Tour events, third all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour.

white tiger

2008-10-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

A white tiger is a tiger with a genetic condition that nearly eliminates pigment in the normally orange fur although they still have dark stripes. This occurs when a tiger inherits two copies of the recessive gene for the paler coloration: pink nose, pink paws, grey-mottled skin, ice-blue eyes, and white to cream-colored fur with black, grey, or chocolate-colored stripes. Mr. H.E. Scott of the Indian police gave this description of a captive white tiger's eyes-"The colorings of the eyes are very distinct. There is no well defined division between the yellow of the comex and the blue of the iris. The eyes in some lights are practically colorless merely showing the black pupil on a light yellow background (Another genetic condition also makes the stripes of the tiger very pale; white tigers of this type are called snow-white.)White tigers do not constitute a separate subspecies of their own and can breed with orange ones, although all of the resulting offspring will be heterozygous for the recessive white gene, and their fur will be orange. The only exception would be if the orange parent was itself already a heterozygous tiger, which would give each cub a 50% chance of being either double-recessive white or heterozygous orange

Common whitetail Dragonfly

2008-10-13T00:10:00.000-07:00

Like many dragonfly species, the name of the dragonfly, the common whitetail, pretty much describes it.

Common whitetails (Plathemis lydia) are among the most ordinary dragonflies across the United States.

They are part of the better skimmer family, and merely one of two members of the Plathemis genus of whitetails.

The adult male, sports a white tail. The picture above shows a gray white abdomen and yellow spots on the rear of the head.

Females of the species split a similar abdomen pattern, without the white cover.

They can easily be mistaken for eight-spotted skimmers because they also contain eight spots on their wings, so the white spots the length of the sides of the abdomen serve as better field recognition clues.

Blue Dasher

2008-10-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

The Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is wide all through the United States, along with being the sole representative of the Pachydiplax genus.

Males are characterized by blue eyes, a blue abdomen and white striped thorax.

Like many of the Libellulidae females, the female blue dasher is brown.

Leaf - cutter bees

2008-10-03T03:54:00.000-07:00

• Leafcutter bees are native bees, significant as pollinators.

• Leafcutter bees are not violent and contain a mild sting that is used only when they are handled.

• Leafcutter bees cut the leaves of plants. The cut leaf fragments are used to shape nest cells.

• Leafcutter bees nest in soft, rotted wood or in the stems of big, pithy plants, such as roses.

Leafcutter bees are significant native insects of the western United States. They use cut leaf fragments to build their nest cells. They often are necessary pollinators of wild plants. Some leafcutter bees are even semi domesticated to help create alfalfa seed. However, their habit of leaf cutting, as well as their nesting in soft wood or plant stems, frequently attracts attention and concern.

Anatomy

2008-10-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

In humans, the trachea divides into the two main bronchi that enter the roots of the lungs. The bronchi continue to divide within the lung, and after multiple divisions, give rise to bronchioles. The bronchial tree continues branching until it reaches the level of terminal bronchioles, which lead to alveolar sacs. Alveolar sacs are made up of clusters of alveoli, like individual grapes within a bunch. The individual alveoli are tightly wrapped in blood vessels, and it is here that gas exchange actually occurs. Deoxygenated blood from the heart is pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where oxygen diffuses into blood and is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the hemoglobin of the erythrocytes. The oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins to be pumped back into systemic circulation.

1:Trachea 2:Pulmonary artery 3:Pulmonary vein 4:Alveolar duct 5:Alveoli 6:Cardiac notch 7:Bronchioles 8:Tertiary bronchi 9:Secondary bronchi 10:Primary bronchi 11:LarynxHuman lungs are located in two cavities on either side of the heart. Though similar in appearance, the two are not identical. Both are separated into lobes, with three lobes on the right and two on the left. The lobes are further divided into segments, then lobules, hexagonal divisions of the lungs that are the smallest subdivision visible to the naked eye. The connective tissue that divides lobules is often blackened in smokers and city dwellers. The medial border of the right lung is nearly vertical, while the left lung contains a cardiac notch. The cardiac notch is a concave impression molded to accommodate the shape of the heart. Lungs are to a certain extent 'overbuilt' and have a tremendous reserve volume as compared to the oxygen exchange requirements when at rest. This is one of the reasons that individuals can smoke for years without having a noticeable decrease in lung function while still or moving slowly; in situations like these only a small portion of the lungs are actually perfused with blood for gas exchange. As oxygen requirements increase due to exercise, a greater volume of the lungs is perfused, allowing the body to match its CO2/O2 exchange requirements.

The environment of the lung is very moist, which makes it hospitable for bacteria. Many respiratory illnesses are the result of bacterial or viral infection of the lungs.

Bumblebees

2008-09-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

Bumblebees are big and fuzzy social insects in the genus Bombus, and they are in the similar family as honeybees, Apidae.

They are colony nesters with underground nests. The conventional colony consists of a queen with workers and drones. Most colonies are small, reducing the possibility of swarming performance harmful to humans, unless the colony is directly aggitated.

Bumblebee species are first and foremost differentiated by color. Similar to honeybees, a bumblees' life also consists of the day to day work of pollinating flowers. For this reason, gardeners and farmers think them beneficial insects.

Unlike honeybees, bumblebees do not construct up large provisions of honey in their nests.

Western Paper Wasp (Mischocyttarus)

2008-09-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

The Western Paper Wasp (Mischocyttarus flavitarsis) is one of merely three or four paper wasps in genus Mischocyttarus that are set up in the United States.

The majority Mischocyttarus species are residents of tropical regions. Similar to its relatives the polistes, it is a social wasp that builds an umbrella wrought paper nest.

The picture shows its feature light abdominal color. Physically, the extended thin waist differentiates it from polistes species.

They are helpful insects. When you are creation a nest removal decision, the benefits your receive by their nesting in and around your house require to be weighed next to your family and friends' potential for getting stung by hurtful the nest residents.

Tarantula Hauk

2008-09-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

Tarantula hawks are up to two inches (50mm) long with a blue-black body and bright rust-colored wings. They are among the largest of wasps. The bright rust coloring that they contain on their wings is also known as aposematic coloring; this warns possible predators that they are unsafe. Their long legs end with enthusiastic claws for grappling with their wounded. The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 1/3 inch (7 mm) long, and delivers a smart which is rated amongst the sorest in the insect world.

Paper wasps

2008-09-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

Paper wasps are a collection of wasps in the Vespidae family.

With a small number of exceptions, Vespids are social wasps that exist and breed in colonies complete of paper nests. A few mud building wasps and solitary wasps are also secret as vespids.

Because they are establishing world-wild, frequently in residential settings, Polistes are the most familiar genus of paper wasps.

Their appetite for caterpillars and additional garden pests build them welcome guests in a lot of back yards as beneficial insects.

They are 10-15 millimeters long, tan in colour with darker bands and some yellow on the face.

Other species of paper wasps are bigger or smaller and differently coloured.

Paper wasps create nests of grey papery wood fiber material.

The nests are cone-shaped, flattering round as more cells are added.

Nests are a utmost diameter of 10-12 centimeters, with many hexagonal cells underneath, some with white caps.

Nests are bare and suspended by a short follow under an overhang, often on a pergola, the eaves of a roof or in a shrub or tree.

Wasps cluster on the nest or scavenge in the garden and approximately buildings.

Ichneumon

2008-09-05T02:25:00.000-07:00

The Ichneumon are a family of wasps (Ichneumonidae) distribution some physical and behavioral traits.

Physically, many are long, thin-waisted wasps, frequently with a red and black or yellow and black color mixture on the throax and abdomen.

Unlike other wasp species, the abdomen tends to be on the long and thin side. Females are further classified as having a comprehensive ovipositor, whose utility is resultant from the wasp's parasitic reproductive strategy.

Grass--carrying Wasps

2008-09-01T02:05:00.000-07:00

Grass-carrying wasps of the type Isodontia are named because of their live out of structure cocoons shaped nests of grass for their young. Like other predator wasps such as the cricket hunter, they paralyzed prey (primarily small crickets), satisfying the nest with food for the rising larvae.

The relationship of grass with many residential areas of the United States income the species can be ordinary around homes.

Many species are a solid black color, though, a couple of species contain red and black color patterns on the thorax or abdomen.

As with most solitary wasp species, they are not recognized to be aggressive around humans.

Digger Wasps (Sphex)

2008-08-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

Wasp species that tingle and paralyze their prey, then transport it back to their nest as food for their young, are frequently referred to as parasitic wasps.

Members of the Sphex genus, whose species are usually called digger wasps, fit into that category.

Digger wasps obtain their name based on their nest building method, which involves digging holes in the ground. Digger wasps come in a diversity of colors in addition to the approximately consistent steel blue to black color of the cricket hunter.

Black and Yellow Mud Dauber

2008-08-19T03:03:00.000-07:00

One appear at the mud dauber in the picture easily explains the name.

They encompass a very skinny and long waist with black and yellow markings on the thorax and abdomen.

Mud daubers are an extremely small group of Sphecidae wasps. As the name implies, they construct mud nests. They are lonely wasps, so their nests do not consist of a colony of workers.

They nourish on spiders and usually are not considered aggressive towards humans. However, at times they can be considered a nusiance because of their liking to build nests residential areas beneath a porch or doorway.

Ammophila

2008-08-13T03:18:00.000-07:00

Ammophila wasps are a type of thread-waisted wasps, often referred to as sand wasps because of their nest building habits around sandy soil land.

They are also known as hunting wasps, classically hunting caterpillars by grabbing them with their influential jaws and paralyzing them with stings. Like cricket hunters, they dray their prey back to the nest as food for the young.

Ammophila do not exist in their nests. Rather, they can frequently be found resting with the jaws firmly gripping a twig. Most species contain variations of red and black color markings on the thorax and abdomen.

Baldfaced hornet

2008-08-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

The Baldfaced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) is sometimes called the white-faced hornet, other than is actually a yellow jacket. It's simple to spot since it's our only black and white yellowjacket. Its nest is a gray "paper" cover with several layers of combs inside. A mature nest is bigger than a basketball, but pear-shaped, with the better end at the top and an entry hole near the bottom.

A solitary, over wintering queen begins building the nest in the spring. She lays eggs and tends the first batch of larvae that expand into workers. These workers be inclined new larvae and expand the nest throughout the summer. A mature colony can contain several hundred workers by the end of the summer. In fall, workers expire and next year's queens find over wintering sites.

Baldfaced hornets are helpful, capturing insects (often including other yellowjackets) to feed to their larvae. Though larger than other yellowjackets, Baldfaced hornets are normally more docile. But they can become violent and will sting when their nest is troubled or threatened.

Speckled Wood

2008-08-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly establish in and on the borders of woodland throughout a great deal of Europe. The speckled wood too occurs in North Africa and on the Atlantic island of Madeira. Molecular studies (Weingarter, Wahlberg & Nylin, 2006) propose that the African and Madeiran populations are closely connected and distinct from European populations of together subspecies, suggesting that Madeira was occupied from Africa and that the African population has an extended history of isolation from European populations.

Females contain brighter and more separate markings than males. The wingspan of both males and females is 4 - 4.5 cm, though males tend to be slightly smaller than females. Males are highly territorial and will protect their territory against intruding males. Some males will energetically defend a perch and the immediate surroundings, to come for females to pass by. Others will patrol a larger country.

Males have also 3 or 4 upper hind wing eyespots. The fourth spot shows only in flight. It appears that the 4-spotted morph tends towards patrolling behavior to finds mates. This agrees with the likely function of the eyespots to entice predators like birds to aspire for the wing margin (which may be damaged without much affecting the butterfly) father than the body. On the other hand, habitat is it seems that a major factor influencing mate-finding strategy: perching behavior is more ordinary in males of conifer woodland, whereas males of meadows tend towards patrolling actions.

Box elder bug

2008-08-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

This bug is concerning 1/2 inch long and 1/3 as wide. It is black with three red lines on the thorax, a red line along each side, and a red line on each division. The wings lie flat on the back when at relax. The young nymphs are red and gray. The population of bugs may number into the thousands.These coreid bugs feed more often than not on box-elder trees. They pass the winter in groups in a number of dry spot, such as under a porch or inside a house. They can be prohibited by spraying.

Box elder bugs usually feed on the leaves, flowers, and seed pods of the box elder tree or silver maple. Large numbers of box elder bugs are typically on the female, or pod-bearing, tree. These insects feed on male box elder trees and other trees and plants, other than they usually do not build up to such large numbers. The adults look for a place to over winter which brings them into houses anywhere they conceal in small cracks and crevices in walls, door and window casings, attics, and around the foundation. Throughout warm days in winter and early spring they come out and disperse through the house. They are mainly a nuisance as they crawl or fly about in the rooms.

Walking Stick

2008-08-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

The walking stick is a common but often ignored insect in the world of entomology because it is not a problem as a pest also to farmers or to ordinary people. These peaceful insects are firmly vegetarians feeding on berry, cherry and a variety of other leaves. There are in excess of 3000 varieties of walking sticks recognized world wide! Walking sticks are found primarily in the reasonable and tropical regions. These creatures use their day’s motionless execution from leaves and branches waiting awaiting dark to feed. This exacting insect gets its name from its appearance, looking a great deal like a twig or in some cases the leaves winning which it feeds.

The walking stick has the strange ability of partial regeneration. If a leg is lost or injured it will grow back after several successive molts. By molting, or shedding its skin, the walking stick is able to grow to an amazing size in just a few months. Once the skin is shed the walking sticks eats it’s possess molt. Walking sticks put down eggs which are dropped to the ground and stay there until they hatch. In the event there are no males in the area a walking stick can lay healthy eggs which emerge and result in females only. Walking sticks fit in to the scientific order

Termite

2008-08-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

A queen termite can put down thirty thousand eggs a day.

Termites have been called the white ant.

Like ants, termites live in colonies.

The most common termite is the black heap termite.

Every termite has there own job.

The termites construct their homes in the ground.

There are twenty-one hundred types of termites.

A few workers have no eyes.

General termite mounds can be up to 2 feet high!

Cicada

2008-08-01T02:43:00.000-07:00

The cicada is connected to the harvest fly.

Some cicada's live subversive for seventeen years.

The cicada grows awake to three inches.

Cicadas suck juice from tree roots at what time they are larva.

Once the female cicada comes on top of ground, she mates. Then she lays her eggs and dies.

The cicada can put down four hundred to six hundred eggs.

The adult cicada lives in trees.

Adult cicadas are alive for thirty to forty days.

A cicada can peep so loud you can listen to it from half a mile away.

Male cicada abdomens have two drum like sound chambers.

Honeybee

2008-07-30T01:57:00.000-07:00

Honeybees have a intense color pattern to caution potential predators (or honey thieves!) that they have a weapon to protect themselves. Their weapon is a customized ovipositor (egg-laying tube). This is mutual with a venom gland to make a stinger (formally known as an aculeus) situated at the end of the abdomen. Because the stinger is adapted from a structure found only in females, male bees cannot sting. When the hive is endangered, honeybees will group out and assault with their stingers to drive the enemy away.

Three classes of honeybees

* Workers: immature females with stings, seen only in early summer.
* Queens: superior in size than workers.
* Drones or males: larger than the workers but with no sting.

Worker bees do all the dissimilar tasks wanted to maintain and operate the hive. They make up the huge majority of the hive's occupants and they are all sterile females. When young, they are called house bees and work in the hive doing comb construction, brood rearing, treatment the queen and drones, cleaning, temperature regulation and defensive the hive.

There is only one queen in a hive and her major purpose in life is to create more bees. She can lay over 1,500 eggs for each day and will live two to eight years. She is larger (up to 20mm) and has a longer abdomen than the workers or drones. She has chewing mouthparts. Her stinger is bent with no barbs on it and she can use it lots of times.

Drones, as they are males, contain no stinger. They live concerning eight weeks. Only a few hundred - at most - are ever there in the hive. Their sole function is to buddy with a new queen, if one is produced in a given year. A drone's eyes are obviously bigger than those of the additional castes.

7-Spot Ladybird

2008-07-28T04:12:00.000-07:00

About 3500 ladybird species have been described of which 46 can be establish in the Uk, and of these only 26 will be willingly recognized as Ladybirds. Ladybird beetles or Ladybugs in the USA, are almost certainly the most well known of all insects. They are a beneficial zoophagous garden species as both adults and larvae feed on a lot of different soft-bodied insects - aphids, spider mites, greenflies, whiteflies, mealybugs and other scale insects - with aphids life form their main food source. They lay eggs in small clusters of 10-50, stuck to the base of leaves where aphids are usually found, hatching in about 7 days. The larvae with their spiky segmented body, 6 legs, no wings, fierce form and a voracious appetite for greenfly, are infrequently called "insect alligators". They feed on the near aphids, having 3 stages (4 instars) previous to pupating.

Adults hibernate over winter, in bark crevices, houses and rocks, now and then in large groups. Ladybirds are small dome wrought between 5-12mm long (0.2-0.5), and depending on species, they are mostly a sleek red colour with black spots, six legs and two short antennae. There are other colour variations - black with red spots, yellow, orange & black forms. Larvae are predated by Lacewings and adults by small birds, but the adult Ladybird is capable of exuding a foul tasting liquid from it's leg joints, so they are not usually eaten. Mostly helpful to the environment there are a number of Ladybird species that feed on plants quite than insects, two notable ones being the Squash Beetle and the Mexican bean beetle. Most Ladybirds have one cohort per year but some will have 2 generations Eg. the 14 Spot Ladybird.

Spring flooding killed many crop pest insects

2008-07-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

Spring flooding that injured Indiana cropland delivered an unanticipated bonus to farmers and homeowners -- less crop-eating insects.

Soaked soil conditions in May and early June killed many insects by destroying their eggs or larva, said John Obermeyer, a field crops entomologist with the Purdue University Extension.

"Right now we're considering extremely low numbers of corn rootworm beetles, specially the Western corn rootworm beetle, as well as the Japanese beetle," he thought

Obermeyer said the floods hit about the time that rootworm eggs emerge into larva. Those grub-like creatures had a hard time getting from side to side the saturated soils and finding corn roots to eat.

Insect bites and stings

2008-06-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Definition

Insect bites and stings can cause an immediate skin reaction. The bite from fire ants and the sting from bees, wasps, and hornets are usually painful. Bites caused by mosquitoes, fleas, and mites are more likely to cause itching than pain.

Alternative Names

Bedbug bite; Bee sting; Bites - insects, bees, and spiders; Black widow spider bite; Brown recluse bite; Flea bite; Honey bee or hornet sting; Lice bites; Mite bite; Scorpion bite; Spider bite; Wasp sting; Yellow jacket sting

Considerations

In most cases, bites and stings can be easily treated at home. However, some people have a severe allergic reaction to insect bites and stings. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, and it requires urgent emergency care. Severe reactions can affect the whole body and may occur very quickly, often within minutes. These severe reactions can be rapidly fatal if untreated. Call 911 if you are with someone who has trouble breathing or goes into shock.

Some spider bites, like those of the black widow or brown recluse, are also serious and can be life-threatening. Most spider bites, however, are harmless. If bitten by an insect or spider, bring it for identification if this can be done quickly and safely.

Symptoms

The non-emergency symptoms vary according to the type of insect and the individual. Most people have localized pain, redness, swelling, or itching. You may also feel burning, numbness, or tingling.

First Aid

For emergencies (severe reactions):

Check the person's airway and breathing. If necessary, call 911 and begin rescue breathing and CPR.
Reassure the person. Try to keep him or her calm.
Remove nearby rings and constricting items because the affected area may swell.
Use the person's Epi-pen or other emergency kit, if they have one. (Some people who have serious insect reactions carry it with them.)
If appropriate, treat the person for signs of shock. Remain with the person until medical help arrives.

The Insect Body

2008-06-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

It is very difficult to provide a simple answer to the question: What external features characterise an insect? This is because the class Insecta is full of exceptions. It is not easy to produce a typical body plan for what most insects look like, but there are some very general features that most insects possess.

Insect features:
The insect body is divided into three main parts, the head, thorax and abdomen.
Insects have no internal skeleton, instead they are covered in an external shell (exoskeleton) that protects their soft internal organs.
No insect has more than three pairs of legs, except for some immature forms such as caterpillars that have prolegs. These are appendages that serve the purpose of legs.
The typical insect mouth has a pair of lower jaws (maxillae) and upper jaws (mandibles) which are designed to bite. There are many variations to this structure, as many moths and butterflies have tubular sucking mouthparts, many bugs and other blood-sucking insects have sucking stabbing mouthparts and some adult insects simply don't have functional mouthparts.
Insects have one pair of antennae located on the head
Most insects have one or two pairs of wings although some insects such as lice, fleas, bristletails and silverfish are completely wingless.

Information regarding Insect Repellents

2008-06-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

Repellents are an important tool to assist people in protecting themselves from mosquito-borne diseases.

CDC recommends the use of products containing active ingredients which have been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use as repellents applied to skin and clothing. EPA registration of repellent active ingredients indicates the materials have been reviewed and approved for efficacy and human safety when applied according to the instructions on the label.

Repellents for use on skin and clothing:

CDC evaluation of information contained in peer-reviewed scientific literature and data available from EPA has identified several EPA registered products that provide repellent activity sufficient to help people avoid the bites of disease carrying mosquitoes. Products containing these active ingredients typically provide reasonably long-lasting protection:

DEET (Chemical Name: N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide or N,N-diethly-3-methyl-benzamide)
Picaridin (KBR 3023, Chemical Name: 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperidinecarboxylic acid 1-methylpropyl ester )
Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus* or PMD (Chemical Name: para-Menthane-3,8-diol) the synthesized version of oil of lemon eucalyptus
IR3535 (Chemical Name: 3-[N-Butyl-N-acetyl]-aminopropionic acid, ethyl ester)

EPA characterizes the active ingredients DEET and Picaridin as “conventional repellents” and Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, PMD, and IR3535 as “biopesticide repellents”, which are derived from natural materials. For more information on repellent active ingredients see (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/ai_insectrp.htm).

Published data indicate that repellent efficacy and duration of protection vary considerably among products and among mosquito species and are markedly affected by ambient temperature, amount of perspiration, exposure to water, abrasive removal, and other factors.

In general, higher concentrations of active ingredient provide longer duration of protection, regardless of the active ingredient, although concentrations above ~50% do not offer a marked increase in protection time. Products with <10%>

These recommendations are for domestic use in the United States where EPA-registered products are readily available. See CDC Travelers’ Health website for additional recommendations concerning protection from insects when traveling outside the United States.

Repellents for use on clothing:

Certain products containing permethrin are recommended for use on clothing, shoes, bed nets, and camping gear, and are registered with EPA for this use. Permethrin is highly effective as an insecticide and as a repellent. Permethrin-treated clothing repels and kills ticks, mosquitoes, and other arthropods and retains this effect after repeated laundering. The permethrin insecticide should be reapplied following the label instructions. Some commercial products are available pretreated with permethrin.

EPA recommends the following precautions when using insect repellents:

Apply repellents only to exposed skin and/or clothing (as directed on the product label.) Do not use repellents under clothing.
Never use repellents over cuts, wounds or irritated skin.
Do not apply to eyes or mouth, and apply sparingly around ears. When using sprays, do not spray directly on face—spray on hands first and then apply to face.
Do not allow children to handle the product. When using on children, apply to your own hands first and then put it on the child. You may not want to apply to children’s hands.
Use just enough repellent to cover exposed skin and/or clothing. Heavy application and saturation are generally unnecessary for effectiveness. If biting insects do not respond to a thin film of repellent, then apply a bit more.
After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water or bathe. This is particularly important when repellents are used repeatedly in a day or on consecutive days. Also, wash treated clothing before wearing it again. (This precaution may vary with different repellents—check the product label.)
If you or your child get a rash or other bad reaction from an insect repellent, stop using the repellent, wash the repellent off with mild soap and water, and call a local poison control center for further guidance. If you go to a doctor because of the repellent, take the repellent with you to show the doctor.

European Red Mite

2008-06-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Life History

Overwintering eggs occur in clusters on roughened areas of bark on twigs and smaller branches, often on the undersides of fruit spurs and at forks of small branches. Eggs hatch at the pink bud stage, and young mites feed upon the opening flowers and developing leaves. The mites continue to feed upon leaves during the spring and summer, increasing in numbers in response to warm temperatures. There may be as many as 6-7 generations per year. Populations generally decline by mid-August, and females lay overwintering eggs during August and September.

Monitoring

Dormant season - Collect 5 fruit spurs per tree on 20 trees selected at random from each hectare of orchard. Count or estimate the number of eggs on the terminal 4-cm of each spur, starting at the base of the bud.

Summer Monitoring is especially important if you apply Sevin thinning sprays and either Assail or Admire, or both, each season. The combination of Sevin thinning sprays and more that 2 applications of either Assail or Admire, or both, can greatly increase the risk of mite flare-ups in the current or subsequent year. Assail and Admire increase egg production in mites. Examine leaves throughout the orchard to assess average numbers of active European red mites and predatory mites. Inspections every week or two are desirable to evaluate population trends and tree response. Numbers of both plant-feeding and predatory mites may be determined either by hand lens examination or through one of the mite counting services. Check with your crop management advisor for addresses of these monitoring services.

Control

Cultural - Healthy, well-maintained trees will tolerate higher mite populations than weak or stressed trees.

Biological - Several species of predatory insects and mites attack all stages of plant-feeding mites to keep populations below damaging levels in most tree fruits. Pear trees cannot tolerate high enough numbers of plant-feeding mites to support the predatory mites needed in integrated control. Chemicals applied for controlling other pests and diseases may upset the ratio of plant-feeding to predatory mites, reducing the effect of biological control. Therefore all pesticides and application rates recommended for integrated mite control in apple are selected to conserve predatory mites.

Chemical - If predatory mites are present in orchards and not exposed to harmful sprays (such as pyrethroids and many Sevin thinning sprays), summer sprays of miticides are not usually necessary.

Pesticide resistance management - It is important to alternate products from different chemical classes or with different modes of action to avoid the development of resistance.

Early season - If an average of over 50 European red mite eggs per spur is present in the dormant sample, apply dormant oil during the 15 mm green-bud to tight-cluster bud stage. This spray is especially important to integrated control because it favours survival of predatory mites and apple rust mite. Oil has a physical effect on mite eggs. A physical control method is not susceptible to resistance development. A well-applied oil spray will keep European red mites at a low level until summer.

Assassin Bug

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Assassin Bugs

One large family of these bugs (the Reduviidae) are predatory and feed on the body juices of other animals, mainly other insects. These are called assassin bugs because of their habit of hiding in ambush for their prey. The rostrum of an ordinary plant-feeding bug is tucked
flat against the underside of the head, but that of an assassin bug is curved outwards from the head. This is a very useful feature by which to identify predatory bugs. They are able to swing their rostrum forwards as they catch and pierce their prey. Once the prey is held and punctured, a salivary secretion is pumped into a canal running down between the fine stylets. This secretion immobilises the prey and dissolves its internal tissues into a pre-digested ‘soup’ that the
assassin bug can then suck up. At the end of the meal, all that is left of the prey is a dry, empty shell.

The common Assassin Bug

Assassin bugs are widely distributed throughout Australia. The common species responsible for bites in coastal Queensland is Pristhesancus plagipennis. It can be found in most urban gardens,
where it lurks among the foliage. It is sometimes called the ‘beekiller’, because a favourite food is the honey bee, but it will feed on any insect it can catch. The one illustrated is about to impale a
small jewel beetle with its rostrum.
Adults of P. plagipennis are 25-30 mm long and yellowish brown. The females lay clusters of long, reddish eggs attached by their ends to twigs. From these eggs hatch tiny spider-like babies with red bodies and black legs. They are sometimes confused with Redbacked
Spiders but they have only six legs, not eight. As they grow and moult they become a speckled colour. Eventually they reach full size and moult into the plain brown adult.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

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Introduction

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stål, is a recently introduced pest to the western hemisphere and was first officially reported from Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2001 (Hoebeke and Carter 2003). This stink bug may become a major agricultural pest in North America, similar to the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.). Both species are polyphagous pests of various crops, but the exact potential impact of BMSB is currently unknown until it is detected in agricultural areas. However, in eastern Asia where the BMSB is native or indigenous, it is a pest on fruit trees and soybeans.

Synonymy
There is considerable confusion in the genus and a revision is needed; all references to Halyomorpha species in Japan, Korea, and east-China are Halyomorpha halys (Rider et al., in press).

Distribution
Although the first specimen was positively identified in 2001 (Hoebeke and Carter 2003), there were numerous reports of a nuisance stink bug in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at least several years prior to that date. Interviews with homeowners indicated that there were likely breeding populations in Allentown as early as 1996 (Bernon 2004). Unlike other stink bug species, the BMSB will enter homes and other buildings seeking warm, overwintering sites, and become a nuisance pest. This behavior resulted in many complaints to the Lehigh County Extension in Allentown (Jacobs and Bernhard 2003). By 2001, the stink bug has been found in five counties in eastern Pennsylvania and two counties in New Jersey (Hamilton and Shearer 2002).

BMSB is ideal for a "hitchhiking" type of dispersal, due to its overwintering behavior. In addition, it is a strong flier. Eventually, it will probably spread throughout the United States and southern Canada (Bernon 2004). As of 2005, in addition to the many confirmed reports from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, there are now isolated reports from several eastern states and Oregon (LaBonte 2005). Rutgers University will be tracking the expanding distribution while evaluating options for future integrated pest management (IPM)( Nielsen and Hamilton 2005).

Identification
Typical of other stink bugs, the BMSB has a shield-shaped body and emits a pungent odor when disturbed. With a mottled brown, 12 to 17 mm long (approximately 1/2 inch) body, it has characteristic alternating dark and light bands across the last two antennal segments that appear as a single white band in both nymphs and adults. This is the most distinguishing characteristic in the field, although it can easily be confused with native brown stink bugs from the genera Brochymena and Euschistus (Hobeke and Carter 2003). If stink bugs are found flying into homes in the fall, they are probably the BMSB and should be reported to the UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension Service or the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Plant Industry. Specimens should be collected for positive identification. Although the brown mottled color is distinctive, there are several native species of brownish stink bugs that will look very similar to the BMSB.

Eggs:
The white or pale green barrel-shaped eggs are laid in clusters on the undersides of leaves. Egg masses have about 25 eggs that are only about 1 mm in diameter but become apparent when nymphs have recently emerged, as they will stay at the egg mass for several days. In Pennsylvania, eggs first appeared in late June, but females continued to lay egg masses until September. Although only one generation was observed, there are likely to be multiple generations as the distribution spreads south (Bernon 2004).

Lice

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Description of Injurious Stages and Damage

Each kind of farm animal may have one or more different species of lice feeding upon it, and each species of louse usually can feed on only one kind of farm animal. The different lice vary in size and colour, but all are small in size from 1 to 6 millimetres long, wingless and flattened. Some (the sucking lice) feed on the blood of animals. Others (the biting lice) feed on dead skin, dried blood and serum on the skin. The presence of either kind of lice may result in irritation and itching, so that animals scratch and rub against stanchions, fence posts or other objects, often causing sores. If animals are badly infested with lice they may become unthrifty, often resulting in loss of weight, and a decrease in milk production by dairy cattle.

Summary of Life History

Lice are usually more abundant on farm animals in the winter. They may be found in colonies in certain preferred areas of the animal's body, and when large numbers are present most of the body may be covered. Biting lice may live for a week off the host, as compared with 2 or 3 days at most for sucking lice. They move from animal to animal by contact or by crawling across walls and bedding. Eggs are glued to the hairs of the body, and usually hatch in less than 2 weeks. The young nymphs hatching from the eggs are similar in appearance to the adults, but smaller. A life cycle may be completed in about one month, and there are several generations per year. Populations peak in the winter.

Control Recommendations

Proper animal nutrition and disease management will reduce the impact of louse infestations. Louse control treatments include:

Beef and non-lactating dairy cattle - carbaryl (0.5% spray, 5% ready-to-use dust), fenthion (1% pour-on), cyfluthrin (1% pour-on), eprinomectin (pour-on), ivermectin (1% ready-to-use injectable, pour-on, or bolus), doramectin (injectable, pour-on), abamectin (injectable), moxidectin (injectable), malathion (0.5% spray, 2% backrubber solution, 4% ready-to-use dust), permethrin (0.0125% spray, 1% or 5% pour-on), rotenone dust.

Note: Non-lactating dairy cattle must not be treated with injectable or pour-on abamectin, doramectin, ivermectin or moxidectin products within 2 months, or ivermectin bolus within 184 days, of calving.

Lactating dairy cattle - carbaryl, rotenone (see above); cyfluthrin (1% pour-on), eprinomectin (pour-on), permethrin (1% or 5% pour-on); 2% malathion backrubber solution.

Swine - carbaryl (0.05% spray, 5% dust), fenthion (3% ready-to-use pour-on), ivermectin (1% injectable), malathion (0.5% spray, 4% dust), rotenone dust.

American Cockroach

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Description

The American cockroach Periplaneta americana grows to a length of 2.5 cm to 4 cm and is known to be very mobile. It is found in warmer parts of New Zealand, and tropical regions around the world due to its travels via shipping and commerce between locations. The insect is believed to have originated in Africa.

The cockroach is often found residing indoors as well as outdoors. It is found mainly in basements, sewers, steam tunnels, and drainage systems. This cockroach is readily found in commercial and large buildings such as restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and where food is prepared and stored. The American cockroach is rarely found in houses; however after heavy rain infestations of the cockroach can enter homes.

Impact
American cockroaches can become a public health problem due to their association with human waste and disease, and their ability to move from sewers into homes and commercial establishments. Cockroaches are also aesthetically displeasing because they can soil items with their excrement and regurgitation.

Management
Overseas there are several hymenopteran (parasitic wasps) that are natural enemies of the American cockroach however; there are no records of this occurring in New Zealand.

Removal of rotting leaves and limiting the moist areas in and around buildings can help in reducing areas that are attractive to these cockroaches.

Other means of management are insecticides that can be applied to basement walls, wood scraps, and other infested locations. Residual sprays can be applied inside and around the perimeter of an infested structure. When insecticides and sprays are used to manage cockroach populations they may ultimately kill off the parasitic wasps. Loose, toxic, pellet baits are extremely effective in controlling America cockroach populations.

The Striped scorpion

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Other Common Names: Plains Scorpion, Wood Scorpion

Scientific Name: Centruroides vittatus

Description: Average scorpion length is 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Young scorpions are pale yellowish-brown, usually with two lengthwise dark stripes on their abdomen; older scorpions are uniform dark brown with the stripes faint or lacking.

Missouri Habitat: A scorpion's favorite habitat is a glade. Glades are rocky, dry areas with a very thin layer of topsoil over thick bedrock. Grasses and small plants adapted to this sunny habitat cover glades, along with shrubs and stunted trees. Scorpions prefer glades with lots of loose rock (such as limestone or dolomite glades) so that they can hide from the sun during the day. They are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night.

Scorpions are sometimes found in buildings and shelters, as well as under piles of wood, brush, or garbage. This is particularly true in the Ozarks and other areas that have a lot of glades. Scorpions seek these places out, especially if there are few humans around, because here they find ideal shelter and plentiful food supplies.

Japanese Beetles

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Popillia japonica also sometimes known as the Chafer Beetle Rose chafer and garden chafer are two different varieties. Japanese Beetles are a shiny copper and green beetle about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long that can eat entire flowers as well as foliage. In areas where these are abundant, they can be devastating to the look of your blooms. Japanese beetles eat large round or oblong holes in the leaves leaf edges and flowers (especially those with light colored blooms), sometimes leaving nothing but a leaf skeleton behind. They usually eat the plant from the top down. They are not going to kill the plant, but they can cause considerable damage. They are a problem for about a month to 6 weeks in the summer when they are in their adult flying form. Before that in the spring, they are 1/2 in to 1 inch long grayish white grubs living in the soil and the grass below. They feed on grass and roots at this point. When they start showing up on roses, they appear to have flown in all at once, but this is just because they all mature at about the same time. They are a much bigger problem in areas of the

USA

east of the Mississippi River. More information can be obtained here: The Japanese Beetle Fact Sheet . OR Control Of Japanese Beetle Adults And Grubs In Home Lawns.

Spider Mite

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Adult
Adults are usually less than 0.5mm in length, have 8 legs and their spider-like appearance can just be made out with the naked eye. Under a x10 hand lens the active form of two-spotted mite appears translucent, greenish, and has two conspicuous black spots on the body. Under adverse conditions the two-spotted mites become reddish-orange. The banana spider mite is more straw coloured and lacks spots. The main distinguishing feature between the two species is the lack of fine webbing in infestations of the banana spider mite.

Immature Stages
The clear, very small spherical egg is followed by three immature stages that are similar to the adult stage.

Life history
The life cycle of both species can be completed in 1 to 4 weeks, depending on temperature and there are many overlapping generations each year. Populations increase rapidly in hot dry weather. All stages of the life cycle plus cast skins and dead mites occur together, mostly near the veins of the underside of leaves but with high numbers can extend over the whole leaf and fruit.

Distribution
Throughout Queensland.

Host Range
Two-spotted mite has a wide host range, consisting of broadleaved weeds, grasses, and crop plants such as strawberries, stone fruit, apples, pears, beans, tomatoes, cotton etc. and ornamentals such as roses.

Monarch

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The Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (L.) can be found at Fermilab beginning in June and sometimes in great numbers in late summer, early fall. It is one of the few butterflies that migrates. The butterflies that travel south in the fall overwinter in the south. They may reproduce in the southern wintering grounds or enroute to the North in the spring. The butterflies you see in the summer at Fermilab are not the same individuals that left there the preceeding fall, but their offspring. Two or more summer generations may be produced in the North and then the fall generation returns to the same wintering grounds even though it is three or more generations removed from that of the previous winter. The principle wintering grounds are in Mexico, but some monarchs overwinter in Florida, Cuba or southern California.

Caddisfly Larva

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What they look like:

The Caddisfly Larva (plural – larvae) are worm-like with three pairs of well-developed legs on the first three body segments and hooks on the last one. Caddisflies are related to butterflies and moths.

Size:
Up to 20 mm long.

Where they live:
They live in a wide range of environments from fast flowing streams to freshwater ponds. Their soft bodies are usually covered in a protective silky case. They use the hooks at the end of their abdomen to hold on to their cases. Some species do not live in cases, using their hooks instead to cling to the stream bed and also to drag themselves backwards to escape from predators.
What they eat:
The Caddisfly Larva eats algae and plants (living and dead). Some species feed on other insects and spin silky nets to capture their prey. Some eat the larvae of other Caddisfly species, while others scrape algae from stones or plants, or shred leaf litter.

Cotton Harlequin Bug

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The Cotton Harlequin Bug is a member of the Jewel bug family (Scutelleridae) named for their bright metallic colouration. The males and females are different colours, with the females mostly orange and the males mostly blue-red.

The Cotton Harlequin Bug feeds on many species belonging to the hibiscus plant family (Malvaceae), including ornamental hibiscus species and cotton. It feeds mostly on young shoots, piercing the stems and sucking the sugar-rich juices intended for shoot growth. They are sometimes a minor pest of cotton and have been known to cause the introduction of a fungus, which rots the cotton boll. In gardens, they cause flower buds to drop prematurely.

This species is common during summer in Sydney gardens and among ornamental trees in parks. The females tend their eggs to ward off the hungry eyes of wasp parasites.

Little house fly

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Little house fly is generally most numerous during the cooler spring and fall months. As temperatures rise in summer, populations of Fannia diminish. Adults are approximately two-thirds the size of the house fly and lack the house fly’s distinctive thoracic stripes. Fannia at rest hold their wings over the back more than the house fly does, creating a narrower V-shape to the wing outline. Flying clusters of male Fannia typically form in areas with still air such as breezeways and porch areas of residential homes, maintaining a position 5 or 6 feet above the ground. Strong air currents tend to disperse these male aggregations.

Little house flies are more reluctant to enter homes than are house flies; instead, they tend to congregate in outdoor areas such as patios, entryways, and garages. As temperatures decline, they seek cover in buildings or protective vegetation. They seldom land on human foods and are not considered a significant carrier of human disease agents. However, their habit of hovering at face height makes them annoying, though they move readily out of the way when approached.

Plum Curculio

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The plum curculio overwinters in the adult stage under ground litter, in woodpiles and other protective sites adjacent to orchards. When apple trees are in the pink stage, the adults begin to fly into the orchards to feed on the buds, flowers, leaves and young fruit for up to 4 weeks. During this time females chew small cavities in the developing fruit in which they lay eggs (one egg/cavity). At each site they make a crescent-shaped cut next to the cavity. The eggs hatch in about 7 days and larvae develop in the fruit for 10 to 16 days, then drop to the ground to pupate in the soil. After about 2-3 weeks the new adults emerge and fly into the trees to feed on the fruit. No eggs are laid at this time. The adults feed until the cooler and shorter days of fall signal time to leave the orchards in search of suitable overwintering sites.

An adult curculio is about 4-6 mm long, dark grey to brown with grey and white patches on the back. It has 4 bumps on the back and their snout is about ¼ of their body length. Mature larvae are 7-9 mm long, white, legless, grub-like with a brown head.

Pea Weevil

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Pea weevil (Bruchus pisorum) is a major pest of field peas. It is now established in all major field pea growing areas of south eastern Australia. Infested seed reduces the weight and quality of the grain and may cause rejection by millers and exporters. Importantly, control can only be achieved by preventing egg laying.

Infestation begins in the paddock when beetles lay eggs on the developing pea pods during or immediately after flowering. It is only when the next generation of beetles emerge from the harvested seed that the damage is seen. The problem of control of pea weevil must be tackled in the paddock. It is quite a different problem to that caused by other storage pests.

Earwigs

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Earwigs have an elongated and flattened or cylindrical body. They can be winged or wingless, and they have chewing mouthparts. The abdomen is long, flexible and telescopic (segments of the abdomen may be drawn into one another like a telescope). The two forcep-like cerci on the end of the abdomen are heavily sclerotised (hardened) and vary in shape and size between species. The forewings, called 'tegmina', are short and lack veins. The large, membranous and semicircular hindwings fold up fan-like under the tegmina and can be unfurled or folded very quickly.

Earwigs vary from 5 mm - 5 cm in length. They come in a range in colours, including: yellow, yellow brown, orange brown, reddish brown, dark brown and black, and sometimes are a combination of these.

Females can be readily distinguished from males as they are usually smaller, have simple forceps and eight visible abdominal (hind-body) segments as opposed to males, which have ten.

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The eight-legged marine animals, which are known as pycnogonids, are only distantly related to land spiders. The stunning specimens were discovered in 160 million-year-old fossil beds at La Voulte-sur-Rhone, near Lyon in south-eastern France. Sea spiders are still with us today; scientists have described about 1,300 species of pycnogonids. They are characterized by eight extremely long legs and a prominent mouthpart. While they may resemble land spiders, the pycnogonids form a distinct biological group. The team identified 70 sea spiders from three distinct species in rock slabs from the Jurassic La Voulte Lagerstatte. A Lagerstatte is a sedimentary rock bed rich in fossils or containing well-preserved specimens.

Housefly

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House flies have one pair of membranous wings and their hind wings are modified as halteres ( club shaped balancing organs). They have sucking mouthparts which can be either piercing or non-piercing, large compound eyes and tarsi (segmented sections like feet on the ends of their legs).

The common housefly adults are 6-8mm long with a wingspan of 13-15mm, a grey thorax (the part of the body between the head and abdomen) with four longitudinal dark stripes.

The lesser housefly adult is 6mm long with a 12mm wingspan, a grey thorax and three longitudinal stripes which are less pronounced than those of the common housefly.

Mole Cricket

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Mole crickets are common turfgrass pests. Three species of mole crickets are considered pests in the Southeast United States.: tawny, southern, and short-winged infiltrator crickets.

This insect’s "hands" are inimitably adapted for digging, allowing it to subway through the dirt. Sod farms, home lawns, golf courses, and pastures can all play host to mole crickets. Any species of turfgrass can be spoiled by mole crickets, but they predominantly like bahiagrass and bermudagrass.

Mole crickets make tunnels in the ground, severing grass roots and causing the earth to swelling upwards. They also eat the roots and shoots of grass. Mole cricket harm looks like ugly brown patches. Predators such as raccoons and armadillos may further dig up the sod to snack on the crickets.

Honeybees

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Honeybees have a bright color pattern to warn potential predators (or honey thieves!) that they have a weapon to defend themselves. Their weapon is a modified ovipositor (egg-laying tube). This is combined with a venom gland to create a stinger (formally known as an aculeus) located at the end of the abdomen. Because the stinger is modified from a structure found only in females, male bees cannot sting. When the hive is threatened, honeybees will swarm out and attack with their stingers to drive the enemy away.

Honeybees, like most insects, look at the world through compound eyes. These are made of hundreds of small simple eyes called ommatidia. The images received by all the ommatidia are put together in the insect's brain to give it a very different way of seeing the world. To see the world the way a bee does, check out Andrew Giger's B-Eye web site in the links section.

Spiders are called arachnids.

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They differ from insects because they have two body parts and eight legs. Insects have three body parts and six legs. There are different ways to categorize spiders. If you start with spider eating habits, they are carnivores, and then a simple two category typology follows. Spiders are either webbies or hunters. Some species use webs to catch their prey. Other species actively hunt their prey on air, land or water without the assistance of a web.

Spiders range in size with jumping spiders among the smallest spiders that people commonly see in their daily lives. The goliath bird eater tarantula of South American, on the other hand, ranks as the largest spider in the world. Because spiders are carnivores (meat-eaters), people fear them. Not only do spiders bite humans, but the bites of a few spider species cause a great deal of pain, and in rarer instances, death. By far, the vast majority of spider species are not dangerous to humans. Rather, most common spiders are considered beneficial. They eat insects that humans consider pests.

Bed Bugs

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Bed bugs are small insects that feed on human blood. They are usually active at night when people are sleeping. Adult bed bugs have flat, rusty-red-colored oval bodies. About the size of an apple seed, they are big enough to be easily seen, but often hide in cracks in furniture, floors, or walls. When bed bugs feed, their bodies swell and become brighter red. They can live for several months without food or water.

Most bed bug bites are initially painless, but later turn into large, itchy skin welts. These welts do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites. Although bed bugs are a nuisance, they are not known to spread disease. In most cases, people carry bed bugs into their homes unknowingly, in infested luggage, furniture, bedding, or clothing. Bed bugs may also travel between apartments through small crevices and cracks in walls and floors.

Mantis

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A mantis has three distinct body segments; head, thorax and abdomen. The thorax has an enlarged portion that forms an impressive neck to which legs and wings are attached. The abdomen comprises the hind part of its body. Its head can move 180 degrees from side to side. On the head are two sets of eyes. One set contains two large, compound eyes with hundreds of facets and two lenses. The second set contains three simple eyes. The compound eyes are on opposite sides of the head, and the three simple eyes are in a triangular pattern between the antennae. Reportedly, mantis eyes are sensitive to slight movements up to 60 feet away.

The most conspicuous body parts of a mantis are its front legs. The front legs of the mantis have rows of strong spikes for grabbing and holding prey. The front of the legs folds back against the middle, making an effective spiked trap for holding prey.

When hunting, the mantis holds these upright in a manner which some say resembles a person in prayer, hence the name "praying" mantis. A female mantis usually has a heavier abdomen and is larger than the male. In North America, a mantis can have a body length of 2-6 inches. The female's abdomen has six segments. A male has eight. When fully developed, both sexes have two sets of wings. The front pair is thick and narrow. The back pair is thin, and folded like a fan. Mantises do not fly long distances. If undisturbed, males fly more than females, and often at night.

There are three common species of praying mantis in North America. The European, Mantis religiosa, and the Chinese, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, were introduced in the Northeast around 1900 to control garden insects. The Chinese mantis is tan, except for the outer edges of its forewings, which are pea green. The species considered native to the United States is the Carolina mantis, Stagmomantis carolina. The closest relatives to the mantis are the grasshopper, cricket, and cockroach.

Fleas

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Fleas are a type of wingless parasite found worldwide. They feed off the blood of humans and animals such as dogs and cats. Since fleas use a wide range of hosts, diseases can be transferred from one host to another. Fleas are known to transmit tapeworm larvae and, uncommonly, the disease murine typhus. They are most notorious for transmitting bubonic plague from wild rodents to humans within certain parts of the world (not Australia).

Adult fleas can survive for some months without feeding. The flea uses its saw-like mandibles (jaws) o cut through skin, usually on accessible parts of the body such as the legs or feet. Flea saliva contains anticoagulants to encourage the blood to keep flowing. Female fleas are prompted to lay their eggs after feeding. The eggs are light coloured and oval-shaped. The larvae cocoon themselves within weeks of hatching. Vibration, such as footsteps, prompts adult fleas to emerge from their cocoons. This is why you may be bitten after entering a house that has been unoccupied for some time.

Cicadas

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Periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) are different from the more familiar ‘annual’ cicadas that emerge later in the summer. The development of Periodical cicadas is synchronized, while that of ‘annual’ cicadas’ is not. Almost all periodical cicadas grow and mature into adults at the same time, which is why we witness such huge groups of them every 17 or 13 years.

Specific groups of periodical cicadas are called “Broods.” Entomologists have devised a chart that documents the emergence of these groups. There are twelve “Broods” that appear in the northeastern part of the United States in different years. This year, the lucky area is Brood X. Brood X refers to certain parts of fifteen states (DE, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, WVA) and Washington DC. These states will witness the emergence of the 17-year periodical cicadas sometime around May or June of 2004.

Bumblebees

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Bumblebees are community insects that are characterized by black and yellow body hairs, habitually in bands. However, some species have orange or red on their bodies, or may be completely black. Another noticeable characteristic is the soft nature of that hair, called pile, that covers their entire body, making them appear and feel furry. They are best illustrious from similarly large, fuzzy bees by the form of the female hind leg, which is modified to form a corbicula; a shiny dipped surface that is bare, but surrounded by a fringe of hairs used to transport pollen.

Bumblebees are normally found in higher latitudes and/or high altitudes, though exceptions exist. A few species range into very cold climates where other bees strength not be found; B. polaris can be found in northern Ellesmere Island - the northernmost occurrence of any eusocial insect - along with its parasite, B. hyperboreus. One reason for this is that bumblebees can regulate their body warmth, via solar emission, internal mechanisms of "shivering" and radiative cooling from the abdomen. Other bees have similar physiology, but it has been best studied in bumblebees.

Mosquito

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Mosquitoes are insects which make up the family Culicidae. They have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slim body, and long legs. The females of most mosquito type suck blood (hematophagy) from other animals, which has made them the most lethal disease vectors known to man, killing millions of people over thousands of years and enduring to kill millions per year by the spread of diseases.

Length varies but is occasionally greater than 16 mm (0.6 inch), and weight up to 2.5 mg (0.04 grain). A mosquito can fly for 1 to 4 hours incessantly at up to 1–2 km/h travelling up to 10 km in a night. Most species are night-time or crepuscular feeders. During the heat of the day most mosquitoes rest in a cool place and wait for the evenings. They may still bite if troubled.

Coccinellidae

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Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds, ladybugs or lady beetles. The family name comes from its type type, Coccinella. Coccinellids are establish worldwide, with over 5,000 species described, more than 450 native to North America alone. Coccinellids are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are normally yellow, orange, or burgundy with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A very large number of species are mostly or entirely black, gray, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to distinguish as coccinellids.

Ladybirds are normally considered useful insects as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, undeveloped fields, orchards, and similar places. Some people consider seeing them or having them land on one's body to be a sign of good luck to come, and that killing them presages bad luck. A few species are pests in North America and Europe.

Old-house Borer

2008-04-02T05:17:00.000-07:00

The old-house borer is a type of wood-boring beetle in the family Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles). Converse to its name, it is more often found in new houses; this is in part because new home creation may use wood infected with the beetle's eggs. Originating in Europe, the old-house borer now has a world-wide allocation, including the Mediterranean, South Africa, Asia, USA and Canada. Recently it has been found in Perth, Australia.

Old-house borers prefer experienced softwoods, and particularly sulk. Only the larvae feed on the wood. Larvae take two or three or more years to mature, depending on the damp content of the wood. Larvae usually mature in the spring, and the mature adults then cut holes 6–10 mm (¼ to 3/8 in) in distance to exit the wood. Adults are most active in the summer.

Ants

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Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, besides with the related families of wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. They are a various group of more than 12,000 species, with a higher range in the tropics. They are known for their highly organized colonies and nests, which sometimes consist of millions of individuals. Individuals are divided into sub-fertile, and more commonly sterilized, females ("workers", "soldiers", and other castes), fertile males ("drones"), and fertile females ("queens"). Colonies can engage and use a wide area of land to support themselves. Ant colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because the dependency appears to operate as a unified creature.

Ants have colonized roughly every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ant species are Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, parts of Polynesia, the Hawaiian Islands, and other remote or inhospitable islands. When all their entity contributions are added up, they may comprise up to 15 to 25% of the total earthly animal biomass.

Termites, sometimes called white ants, are not closely linked to ants, although they have related social structures. Velvet ants, although resembling large ants, are wingless feminine wasps.

Honey Bee

2008-03-31T07:26:00.001-07:00

Honey bees (or honeybees) are a division of bees which symbolize a far smaller fraction of bee multiplicity than most people believe; of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees, there are only seven presently-recognized species with a total of 44 subspecies. These bees are the only living members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis, and all of which manufacture and store liquefied sugar ("honey") to some degree, and create colonial nests out of wax secreted by the workers in the colony. Other types of related bees produce and store honey, but only members of the sort Apis are considered true honey bees.

Scorpions

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Scorpions are eight-legged arthropods. A member of the Arachnida class and belonging to the order Scorpiones, there are about 2000 type of scorpions. They are found broadly distributed south of 49° N, except New Zealand and Antarctica. The northern-most part of the world where scorpions live in the wild is thinness on the Isle of Sheppey in the UK, where a small colony of Euscorpius flavicaudis has been occupant since the 1860s.

The cuticle makes a tough shell around the body. In some places it is covered with hairs that act like equilibrium organs. An outer layer that makes them luminous green under ultraviolet light is called the hyaline layer. Newly molted scorpions do not glow awaiting after their cuticle has toughened. The luminous hyaline layer can be integral in fossil rocks that are hundreds of millions of years old.

The confidence that scorpions commit suicide by harsh themselves to death when surrounded by fire is of considerable relic and is often prevalent where these animals exist. It is nevertheless untrue since the venom has no effect on the scorpion itself, nor on any member of the same species. The misapprehension may obtain from the fact that scorpions are poikilotherms (cold-blooded): when showing to passionate heat their metabolic processes break down. This causes the scorpion to spasm wildly and this spasming may appear as if the scorpion is hurtful itself. It is also untrue that alcohol will cause scorpions to sting themselves to death.

Crustaceans

2008-03-28T03:46:00.000-07:00

The crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising roughly 52,000 described species, and are typically treated as a subphylum. They include various familiar animals, such as lobsters, crabs, shrimp, crayfish and barnacles. The majority are marine, living in either fresh water or marine environments, but a few groups have modified to earthly life, such as worldly crabs, terrestrial hermit crabs and woodlice. The majority are motile, moving about separately, although a few taxa are sponging and live attached to their hosts (including sea lice, fish lice, whale lice, tongue worms, and Cymothoa exigua, all of which may be referred to as "crustacean lice"), and adult barnacles live a sessile life — they are attached head-first to the substrate and cannot move autonomously.

The scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology. Other names for carcinology are malacostracology, crustaceology and crustalogy, and a scientist who works in carcinology is a carcinologist, crustaceologist or crustalogist.

Orthoptera

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The Orthoptera are an order of insects with paurometabolous or partial metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts. Many insects in this order make sound by rubbing their wings alongside each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of grooved bumps. The tympanum or ear is located in the front tibia in crickets, mole crickets, and katydids. These organisms use vibrations to locate other individuals.

Orthopterans have two pairs of wings; the forewings or tegmina are narrower than the hind wings and toughened at the base. They are held overlapping the stomach at rest. The hind wing is membranous and held folded fan-like under the forewings when at rest. They have mandibulate mouthparts, large compound eyes, antennae length varies with species. Their saltatorial hind legs are extended for jumping.

Orthopteroid species have a paurometabolous life cycle or regular metamorphosis. Most grasshoppers lay their eggs in the ground or on foliage. The eggs emerge and the young nymphs look like adults but lack wings and at this stage are often called hoppers. Grasshoppers are able to fold their wings, placing them in the group Neoptera. Through consecutive moults the nymphs develop wings until their final moult into a grown-up adult with fully developed wings.

Cockroaches

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Among the most well-known type are the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, which is about 30 mm (1 inch) lengthy, the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, about 15 mm (1/2 inch) lengthy, the Asian cockroach, Blattella asahinai, also about 15 mm (1/2 inch) in length, and the Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis, about 25 mm (3/4 inch). Humid cockroaches are often much bigger, and destroyed cockroach relatives such as the Carboniferous Archimylacris and the Permian Apthoroblattina were numerous times as large as these. Cockroaches are commonly considered vermins; however, only about 30 species (less than 1%) swarm urban habitats.

Cockroaches are most common in humid and subtropical climates. Some species are in close connection with individual dwellings and generally found around refuse or in the kitchen. Cockroaches are generally omnivorous with the exemption of the wood-eating genus Cryptocercus; these roaches are powerless of digesting cellulose themselves, but have symbiotic relationships with various protozoans and bacteria that digest the cellulose, allowing them to remove the nutrients. The resemblance of these symbionts to those in termites are such that the genus Cryptocercus has been believed to be more closely related to termites than to other cockroaches, and current research muscularly supports this hypothesis of relationships.

Butterfly

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A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are prominent for their curious life cycle with a larval caterpillar period, an immobile pupal stage, and a impressive metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form. Most species are day-flying so they habitually attract attention. The varied patterns formed by their brightly coloured wings and their unreliable yet graceful flight have made butterfly watching a fairly popular hobby.

Butterflies encompass the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (Superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (Superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterflies reveal polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some are known to voyage over large distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and sponging relationships with social insects such as ants. Butterflies are vital cheaply as one of the major agents of pollination. In addition, a number of species are pests, because they can damage domestic crops and trees.

Spider

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Spiders are rapacious invertebrate animals that have two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. They are confidential in the order Araneae, one of several orders within the larger class of arachnids, a group which also contains scorpions, whip scorpions, mites, ticks, and opiliones (harvestmen). The study of spiders is known as araneology.

All spiders produce silk, a thin, strong protein filament extruded by the spider from spinnerets most normally found on the end of the abdomen. Many species use it to trap insects in webs, though there are also many species that hunt generously. Silk can be used to aid in climbing, form smooth walls for burrows, build egg sacs, wrap prey, and provisionally hold sperm, among other applications.

All spiders excluding those in the families Uloboridae and Holarchaeidae, and in the suborder Mesothelae (together about 350 species) can insert venom to protect themselves or to kill and dissolve prey. Only about 200 species, however, have bites that can pose health problems to humans. Many larger species' bites may be quite tender, but will not produce lasting health concerns.

Beetles

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Beetles are a group of insects which have the major number of species. They are placed in the order Coleoptera, which means "covered wing" and contains more described species than in any other order in the animal kingdom, constituting about twenty-five percent of all known life-forms.[1] Forty percent of all described insect species are beetles (about 350,000 species[1]), and new species are repeatedly discovered. Estimates put the total number of species, described and undescribed, at between 5 and 8 million.

Beetles can be found in almost all habitats, but are not known to occur in the sea or in the polar regions. They work together with their ecosystems in several ways. They often use to eat plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and feed other invertebrates. Some species are victim of various animals including birds and mammals. Certain species are agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the boll weevil Anthonomus grandis, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, and the mungbean or cowpea beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, while other species of beetles are important controls of agricultural pests. For example, coccinellidae ("ladybirds" or "ladybugs") consume aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that destroy the crops.